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INBRIEF
THE RULE OF LAW
by
Stanley R. Rader
ccompanying Mr. Herbert W.
Armstrong on bis higbly suc–
cessful China visit last De–
cember, 1 was asked to address the
Beijing University Law Department
on the subject of American Constitu–
tional Law. At tbe time, the general
subject of law was very much on tbe
minds of our Chinese bosts, who were
then less than a month away from
when the People's Republic's first
legal code was to go into effect. This
gave me the opportunity to stress to
the Chinese educators and lawyers to
whom 1 spoke the critica) importance
of the rule of law - the idea that
human rulers do
not
have supreme
power, but are themselves subject to
higher authority.
Up to 1979, the People's Republic
of China (P.R.C.) had been without
the rule of law for almost two
decades. The Ministry of Justice had
been abolished, the local courts
handed down "justice" according to
whatever política) faction was fa–
vored at the time. Judges and lawyers
were imprisoned, or sent to work on
farms or in factories. lt was a period
which has now been described as a
"time of lawlessness." As one elderly
Beijing lawyer, quoted in the
London
Times
put it, "A whole generation
has grown up without realizing the
importance of law in our society and
without respect for the law."
Now China has instituted a series
of written legal codes, which at least
promise to reestablish the rule of law
in Chinese society. No one should
underestimate their importance; as
one Columbia University professor
said, "these are epochal, earthshak–
ing changes." The new codes repre–
sent one of the most startling about–
faces in modero political history.
Not only is the very existence of a
fixed system of law a radical depar–
ture from China's recent past, but,
interestingly enougb, the new laws
seem to be based more on Westero
and Japanese models tban those of
April 1980
other socialist countries. A number
of provisions in the new code of
criminal procedure, for example,
bear a striking similarity to guaran–
tees found in the American Bill of
Rigbts.
Even more striking (for a socialist
country) tban the guarantees of cer–
tain civilliberties in criminal matters
are sorne of China's new laws con–
cerning investment from abroad. The
new codes actually put sorne checks
on the government in the area of
partnership ventures between tbe
Cbinese and foreign companies.
Civilized human society requires
relatively stable systems of rules in
order to function . Before one can do
anything, he must know whether the
government will apply sanctions if he
does it. Constructive, upbuilding
human effort is impossible if individ–
uals are subject to the arbitrary,
wbims of human governors.
In particular, there must be a
predictable system of law if a society
is ever going to make any economic
progress. Economic and business
activity just cannot be done if subject
to arbitary rule.
Tbis is why such a large part of the
new Chinese legal codes are devoted
to setting up a predictable system of
rules under which foreign companies
can operate in China. Tbe P.R.C.
thereby hopes to give tbem an incen–
tive to come into the country to help
modernize it.
The rule of law is one of tbe most
profound ideas in the study of gov–
ernment. In the United States, one of
the barriers to oppressive govern–
ment is a written constitution that
would carefuUy define the powers of
governmental activity. The idea was,
as Cbief Justice John Marshall
pointed out just a few years after the
Constitution was enacted, tbat the
human beings elected to govern the
country could not exceed tbe bounds
established by a
higher authority
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the Constitution.
Tbe idea that rulers should be
subject to a higher law tban their
own wills is also found in the Bible.
God is the Great Judge and Lawgiver
(Isaiah 33:22), who holds those
under His authority responsible for
obeying God's Law. God's Law puts
divine limits on the exercise of
human power.
This principie is made very expli–
cit in God's instructions to tbe Isra–
elites concerning the duties of a
king. Tbe human king of Israel was
to be under the Law of God. Tbere
were all sorts of things which God's
Law did not allow bim to do,
including "multiply horses to him–
self" or "greatly multiply to himself
silver and gold" (Deuteronomy
17:16-17). But most importantly,
God's Law provided that a king
over Israel was personally to hand
copy what was in effect, the Con–
stitution of ancient Israel, the Torah
(the Bible as it then was).
"And it shall be, when he sitteth
upon the throne of bis kingdom, that
he shall write him a copy of tbis law
in a book out of that which is before
the priests the Levites: And it shall
be with him, and he shall read there–
in all the days of bis life; that he may
learn to fear the Lord bis God, to
kéep all the words of this law and
these statutes, to do them: that bis
beart be not lifted up above bis
bretbren, and that he turn not aside
from the commandment, to the right
or to the left ... " (Deuteronomy
17:18-19).
God's Word is very clear that
human rulers are subject to a higher
authority - God's Law. There are
limits to their legitimate power. In
the world today, lawlessness in high
places (see Ephesians 6:12) is one of
tbe reasons for the injustice that
plagues mankind (lsaiab 59:14).
But God's Government will soon
be extended to the whole earth. God's
Government is based on God's fixed
immutable law (Malachi 3:6: "For 1
am tbe Lord, 1change not") to which
God has even bound Himself. In
God's world there will be a stable,
fixed system of law which will allow
human effort to ftow into construc–
tive, edifying purposes. Tbis fact
alone will produce a world of abun–
dant prosperity.
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